Fringe Recap: Scrambled Brains

Walter’s dilly-dallying over Asimov leads to capture and a chance for a Star Trek shout-out:

Resistance is futile.

That sound you hear is all the nerd’s collectively gasping then squeaking in delight. Oh…just me?   Fine, I’m an uber-nerd then.  Obviously the Observers found the information Gypsy #1 sold to be valuable.  Despite some great gun action from Henrietta, Walter is captured as the others get away.

Olivia is freed from her Amber prison, and she reacts with typical emotional resonance dealing with the revelation of time travel and a missing daughter suddenly before her.  Damn, great casting Fringe!  I believe these two are related, and when they hug for the first time I cry each time I watch.  Better get back to the action – Olivia reveals the mystery device:

So why did Walter need a massager?

Walter is hanging out in my junior high locker room, getting ready for a torture session with Mr. Observer.  The staging reminds me of the dental torture artist from the Alias pilot.  Mr. O is going to rip all the information he can from Walter’s mind.

Henrietta heads to a Resistance cell location to get information, and we’re treated to some more information about Olivia and Peter’s last few months together.  Piecing together conversation it appears that this timetable is reasonably accurate:

1. Observers came.
2. Henrietta was abducted; Olivia and Peter woke up in treatment tent.
3. Olivia and Peter searched for daughter in Boston area for about a month.
4. Olivia left with Walter to New York area to fight the Observers, while Peter stayed behind to look for Henrietta.

If I got this wrong, please tell me!  This show can get pretty confusing.  I’m still figuring out where Astrid was hiding in the scene as Peter and Olivia talked about their month away from each other.  Yet here she is, walking right into the Resistance cell.

Turns out the device is a SkyMall Deluxe Transilience Though Unifier Model-11.  Not to be confused with the SkyMall Standard Transilience Thought Unifier-Pro, this model is designed to retrieve the scrambled thoughts of one mind.  This bad-boy is designed for Walter Bishop.  So happy he’s still aliv…oh, wait.  Is he still alive?

Still alive for the moment, but you can save me any time!

I wasn’t kidding – brain cells are boiling as you deliberate.

Back at the Cell, Henrietta is scouring camera footage to find where Walter is being held.  In spectacular Greek fashion, the Gang is going to sneak into the Observer Fortress with Peter using tech to play dead.  Astrid is just going to play dead and magically appear when needed.  Maybe she’s always hiding in the van?

The whole family heads to the carbon monoxide generator to divert the Observer horde inside.  They make it to Walter, but he’s pretty worked-over.  Can someone explain how John Noble hasn’t been nominated for an Emmy on this show?

Maybe it’s just my character’s drug use without consequences?